The State’s Rail Service and 6 Investment Program California’s multimodal transportation network is a complex system that moves people, goods, and services, furthering the state’s robust economy. As California moves forward to implement sustainable practices and build climate resiliency and adaptability while maintaining a technological and economic edge, effective solutions must be found to maintain efficiency in strategic interregional transportation corridors. Chapter 6 presents the proposed capital plan; federal, state, and local funding sources; program effects; and current and future rail studies and reports necessary for the implementation of the 2040 Vision. Details of the passenger rail Capital Program include implementation goals for the short-term (2022), mid-term (2027) and long-term (2040 Vision) time horizons, with appropriate funding sources; as well as the freight rail funding strategy, along with relevant shared-use corridor and safety programs. This chapter also explains the 2040 Vision program effects and benefits to both the passenger and freight networks, economic benefits, shared environmental impacts and benefits, and the regional balance in the distribution of benefits. Finally, ongoing coordination between existing rail plans is important for future implementation planning, and this chapter identifies those as well as other identified future planning needs and proposed studies. Chapter 6 • The State’s Rail Service and Investment Program 6.1 Passenger and Freight Rail Passenger Rail Program Capital Program Passenger rail services across California, where California needs to decide how best to invest public strategic and timely investments have been made, dollars strategically to maximize benefits without are serving record numbers of passengers and compromising LOS, while building and phasing achieving record growth rates. Where passenger investments in a manner that does not duplicate service is provided and well-planned to meet efforts over time. customer needs, it is successful—and often overwhelmed by passenger demand. The passenger As identified in the ITSP and further expanded on in rail program presented in the 2040 Vision represents the Rail Plan, a modernized and integrated statewide a series of strategic investments to continue rail network is an investment that allows the State maximizing the return from existing and ongoing to strengthen regional transportation corridors investments, and then connect them with fully and provide viable alternatives to the movement of integrated regional and statewide service networks. goods, people, and services. As detailed in Chapter 4, the 2040 Vision sets forth The Rail Plan offers an investment strategy that specific service goals to deliver a fully integrated allows the State to focus on corridor-level rail statewide network of passenger rail services. investments to achieve service goals that will help The following sections describe the capital costs in closing capacity gaps, improving corridor safety, associated with the service delivery goals presented and increasing frequency and reliability of intercity in Chapter 4 necessary for achieving full connectivity passenger rail. in the 2040 Vision. The 2040 Vision assumes that the Metropolitan Los Angeles and San Francisco both completed California HSR will serve as the backbone rank in the top five for most congested urban areas of a statewide system of interconnected regional in the world.[173] Los Angeles was ranked as having networks. the worst automobile congestion in the world, with drivers spending an average of 104 hours stuck in Capital Planning congestion in 2016, costing the city an estimated This section details the methodology used to identify $9.7 billion—or $2,408 per driver. Meanwhile, the capital improvements, compile cost estimates, San Francisco Bay Area has the most congested and phased improvements over short-term (2022), arterial and city streets in the United States during mid-term (2027), and long-term (2040 Vision) time commute hours. horizons, ensuring that infrastructure scales to meet market needs and is not redundant or stranded by future investments. Based on the service goals established for the 2040 Vision, the planned and required capital investments are defined to detail the needed infrastructure improvements and Automobile congestion, understand their related costs. coupled with the economic losses attached to congestion, along with aggressive air quality and GHG emissions targets, make the case for shifting travel mode shares away from driving. 173 INRIX, Los Angeles Tops INRIX Global Congestion Ranking, Global Traffic Scorecard, 2017. 184 Chapter 6 • The State’s Rail Service and Investment Program Methodology The 2040 Vision provides the service type, frequency Assembling the Capital Program for the Rail Plan (system pulse), required average service speed, followed two tracks: citing costs for established departure and arrival times, and route nodes used projects; and estimating costs for additional projects. to develop corridor-specific improvements and The majority of the Capital Program in the 2040 build related capital cost estimates. These service Vision represents previously identified projects plans were used to identify capacity requirements that improve the safety and capacity of existing at the corridor level throughout the state, which infrastructure and realize its potential; and aligns are the primary basis for all project descriptions investments for improved accessibility, reliability, and assumptions in this estimate. The corridors safety, and sustainability of the multimodal were investigated through a survey of the existing connectivity of the state. It leverages existing assets infrastructure and conditions. The capacity and and connects and evolves regional rail and local capabilities of that infrastructure was compared with transit networks. future capacity requirements. First, established costs for existing and defined State Capital Investments projects were identified and citied from publicly The service and connectivity goals, along with available documents. Where relevant, these costs corridor-level improvements required to achieve were escalated to 2018 dollars for consistency. Such the 2040 Vision, are described in a phased plan cited costs make up the bulk of projects listed in the with capital projects identified for the next 4 years 2022 time horizon, when projects included in the (2022); mid-range needs identified for the next capital plan are further along in the development decade (2027); and long-range improvements and process. investments for long-range (2040) planning toward Second, additional capital costs in the Rail Plan the envisioned future. include planning-level estimates that consider • 2022 catalogs the Capital Plan of ongoing and complexity, environment, geographic location committed projects as part of an enhanced (urban, suburban, and rural), proximity to active existing conditions assessment of present and tracks, and other factors that may influence costs. near-term rail services across the state. Planning-level estimates of capital cost are within • 2027 captures new and established projects a rough order of magnitude—intended to inform and planning studies intended to maximize investment decisions, and not be interpreted as capacity and utility of the existing passenger engineering-level estimates. rail network, and to begin using HSR while The cost catalog developed for this process follows connecting it to the statewide integrated FRA’s Standardized Cost Categories, with unit costs network. for typical elements identified based on an average • 2040 identifies additional corridor-level project cost. For high-cost improvements, such as investments and service goals needed to fully intermodal hubs, a lump-sum cost is assumed, based realize the 2040 Vision, connecting regional on comparable costs from recent projects of similar networks into a statewide, integrated system. scope. To achieve the 2040 Vision Network described in Chapter 4, the Rail Plan identifies a robust, strategic capital investment program that catalogs near- term projects, maximizes returns from existing investments, and builds out and connects regional networks into an integrated statewide system. The full spectrum of passenger rail modes is included in the capital investment program, from Urban Rail projects to potential future HSR extensions. 185 Chapter 6 • The State’s Rail Service and Investment Program 2022 (Near-Term) Infrastructure Investment Intercity Rail improvements for 2022 include capacity The 2022 services goals and Capital Program are expansion and speed improvements to existing focused on identifying the planned, committed, intercity rail services; grade separations and other or otherwise under-construction projects that will safety improvements; and shared freight corridor ultimately serve the network identified in the 2040 improvements, like new sidings and double-tracking Vision. Goals for the 2022 Capital Programs and sections. In addition, a number of planning studies projects list, which will potentially be achieved earlier have been identified and included in the Capital than 2022, include relevant state-level projects that Program to explore project implementation for are already scoped, scheduled, and budgeted; and future service goals. These projects positively impact establish existing conditions for future capital cost the statewide network, improving interregional analysis. Although capital projects identified